![]() Asimina triloba (pawpaw) |
One of the Midwest's most distinctive trees, pawpaw (Asimina triloba) features foot-long leaves, unforgettable springtime flowers, and funky fruits that develop over the course of the summer. It is an understory tree, usually found in moist, low lying areas in small thickets. No other Midwestern trees look similar, with the possible exception of Kentucky's big-leaf magnolia, but the latter tree's leaves are even larger (2–3 feet long!) and, like all magnolias, it produces conspicuous cones. Pawpaw fruits are edible and popular, but we have not tried them. According to several of our sources the fruits of some trees are less palatable than the fruits of others. For this reason cultivators have developed consistently palatable fruits—like those celebrated and consumed every year in Athens County, Ohio, where the annual Pawpaw Festival draws thousands of pawpaw enthusiasts. |
![]() midwestern range |
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References: Harlow 1946, Peattie 1948, GN Jones 1971, Miller & Jaques 1978, Kricher & Morrison 1988, Preston 1989, RL Jones 2005, Mohlenbrock 2006, Kershaw 2007, Sibley 2009, Voss & Reznicek 2012, Dey 2014, Mohlenbrock 2014, Hilty 2021, USDA 2021. Kuo, Michael & Melissa Kuo (November, 2021). Asimina triloba (pawpaw). Retrieved from the midwestnaturalist.com website: www.midwestnaturalist.com/asimina_triloba.html All text and images © , midwestnaturalist.com. |